Editor’s letter

When Shameless magazine goes into its frenzied production period, something amazing happens. Friends, co-workers and volunteers all gather for the tedious process of poring over proofs, trying to find errors, double checking website addresses, hunting down spelling mistakes and brainstorming headlines.

In exchange, I feed people. Tables are filled with containers of hummus and bowls filled with candy. We move the toaster from my kitchen into the living room so we can toast bagels. We have tea and coffee and juice and our art director, Sheila, drinks a case of Coca Cola.

In the end, it all gets done, and it’s inspiring that this community comes together to make the magazine, once again, possible.

Since our last issue (my very first as editor), I’ve been lucky enough to meet a lot of the Shameless community: readers, writers, bloggers, teachers and parents. The day after our last issue came out, Shameless publisher Stacey May Fowles, her partner Spencer Saunders and I lugged boxes to the Toronto literary festival Word on the Street. By the end of the day, our voices were hoarse but we were overwhelmed by the incredible support from everyone we met.

So thank you to everyone who continues to send us feedback and love letters, shows up to help find errant commas and misspelled words, signs up for subscriptions, buys our back issues and writes for us. It means a lot to be part of such a fantastic community.

We hope you enjoy this issue. We have a new columnist: Emily Urquhart will now write our food column, Stir it up (page 38). In her first piece, she talks about the mixed messages—and her mixed feelings—about sealflipper pie. Many thanks go to our departing food columnist, Caroline Pelletier, who kept us thinking critically about cuisine since the second issue of Shameless.

Another goodbye: we bid farewell to our arts editor (and longtime contributor) Jennifer Goldberg, who has moved on to other projects. We wish her well. If you have arts stories you think we should cover, send them to arts@shamelessmag.com.

And, if you’re interested in joining the team, we’re still looking for new members to join our teen collective. So if you’re in Toronto, and want to get involved, please send me an e-mail at megan@shamelessmag.com.

And other exciting news: we started working on the very first Shameless book, an anthology of essays by women about their experiences as teens (see our call for submissions on page 45). So please save a little extra space on your bookshelf, and we’ll keep you posted on how the book is coming along.